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Hawaii lawsuit seeks equal rights for gay couples

Six gay couples in Hawaii are filing a lawsuit Thursday asking for the same rights as married couples, three weeks after Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed a same-sex civil unions measure.

The lawsuit doesn’t seek the titles of "marriage" or "civil unions" for gay partners. Instead, it requests that the court system extend them the benefits and responsibilities of marriage based on the Hawaii Constitution’s prohibition against sex discrimination.

"We continue to be discriminated against," said plaintiff Suzanne King, who has been in a relationship with her partner for 29 years. "We’re a family unit, and we live our lives just like everyone else, but we aren’t treated the same."

NOM Boosts CA GOP Candidate Carly Fiorina with $1 Million Campaign

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is funding a conservative Latino group to the tune of $1 million, in order to keep marriage equality from Californians by supporting the Senate campaign of Carly Fiorina and her anti-gay platform.

HRC:

According to a media advisory from the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, the National Organization for Marriage is involved in a $1 million independent expenditure campaign to support Carly Fiorina for Senate, a candidate they point out opposes marriage equality. Today, the Human Rights Campaign - the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization - called on NOM, which has a long history of trying to hide political contributions, to disclose how much they're contributing to this effort. As the LA Times points out in reporting on the new campaign, "finding out where the money comes from - if and when it actually does come - is virtually impossible."

"Like a broken record, NOM is again involved in a campaign with an anti-LGBT message yet the public has no idea how deep they're reaching into their coffers," said Fred Sainz, HRC's vice president of communications. "Apparently they have some gas money left from their sham summer tour to once again flood the airwaves with lies about same-sex couples who only seek the same rights as everyone else."

NOM has a history of trying to evade long-established public disclosure laws and to hide their political activities from legitimate scrutiny and accountability. In doing so, they have falsely alleged that their donors have been harassed and intimidated across the country to justify why it shouldn't have to play by the same rules as everyone else. These tactics have prompted a state ethics investigation in Maine and recent court defeats across the country.

Added Sainz: "While the stated intent of this independent expenditure is to support Carly Fiorina, clearly NOM wants to poison the well around the marriage debate in California. With polls showing movement towards equality for all families, they see the writing on the wall and will stop at nothing to turn the clock backwards."

The Courage Campaign also sent out an alert:

"Amidst its anti-gay bus tour across 23 eastern and midwestern cities, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has joined a $1 million independent expenditure campaign called 'Tus Valores' -- or 'Your Values' -- to support Sarah Palin endorsed California Senate Candidate Carly Fiorina. 'In NOM, Carly Fiorina has aligned herself with a fringe group that relies on lies and fear to advocate discrimination and second-class citizenship for millions of loving American families,' said Courage Campaign Chairman and Founder Rick Jacobs. 'Bigotry is not a family value and it has no place in the United States Senate.' In addition to NOM, the 'Your Values' campaign for Carly Fiorina is being funded by the anti-choice Susan B. Anthony List. 'As a failed CEO who killed thousands of California jobs, Carly Fiorina knows she can't run on her record,' Jacobs added. 'The 'Your Values' independent expenditure campaign is an extremist-backed sham steeped in undermining families and limiting the freedoms of millions of Americans. By failing to condemn such a cynical ploy, Carly Fiorina is reminding voters just how out of touch she is with the values of California.'"

Anne Rice Quits Christianity

Anne Rice is no longer a Christian.

The best-selling author of Interview With a Vampire and mother to novelist Christopher Rice posted on her Facebook page that she’s left the religion because she refuses to be “antigay,” “antifeminist,” and “anti-Democrat.”

Rice wrote, “It’s simply impossible for me to 'belong' to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outside. My conscience will allow nothing else.”

“In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian.”

In 2004, Rice announced in Newsweek that she from that point forward, she would “write only for the Lord.” The author continued to be a vocal supporter of gay rights while touting her Christian faith.

Thank You For Your Call from Shawn Nee / discarted on Vimeo.

Target CEO Defends Campaign Donation

Target Corp. chief executive Gregg Steinhafel said Tuesday that the company's support of the gay community is "unwavering," despite a $150,000 donation to a group supporting the gubernatorial candidacy of an antigay Minnesota politician.

According to the Associated Press, Target gave the campaign funds to MN Forward, which is affiliated with the state's outgoing Republican governor, Tim Pawlenty. The political group has supported television ads for state Rep. Tom Emmer, who opposes marriage equality.

"We rarely endorse all advocated positions of the organizations or candidates we support, and we do not have a political or social agenda," Steinhafel wrote in an e-mail. "Let me be very clear, Target's support of the GLBT community is unwavering, and inclusiveness remains a core value of our company."

Meg Whitman Does Not Support Gay Marriage

whitmangaymarriage
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Elisabeth Hasselbeck: Women Going Gay Later In Life Because Old Men Are Choosing Younger Women

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Uploaded by queerty3. - More gay and lesbian lifestyle videos.

Always the beacon of rationality, The View's shining star Elisabeth Hasselbeck this morning offered sociology's secret explanation for why middle-aged women are going gay: Old guys are going for younger gals, leaving women in the 40s and 50s and 60s to do nothing but ating other women.

NOM's Most Massive #Fail So Far in Madison, Wisconsin

Marriage equality supporters outnumbered "traditional marriage" supporters 8 to 1 at today's National Organization for Marriage (NOM) rally in Madison, Wisconsin, NOM Tour Tracker reports.

That's 466 equality supporters vs. 54 bigots.

One wonders if NOM's speakers could be heard over the crowd. They certainly had trouble in Indianapolis, yesterday. Watch Maggie Gallagher try to shout her hate over the crowd at the Indianapolis rally:

Marriage Equality Supporters Beat NOM Turnout 3-1 in Indianapolis

New NOM Tour Tracker photos have been posted from today's National Organization for Marriage hate-a-palooza rally in the Hoosier State.

Indianapolis marriage equality supporters (seen in back row, surrounding plaza) outnumbered NOM's crowd by 3-1.

Calif. Court Nominee Dodges Tough Questions

Tani Cantil-Sakauye, nominee for California chief justice, avoided many controversial issues in her first interview since her nomination.

Cantil-Sakauye would not give her opinion about gay marriage to theLos Angeles Times but said she would follow precedent if she heard a gay rights case. The moderate Republican performed a gay marriage in 2008 but said it was only because the marriage was legal at the time.

She also declined to make a major stance about the initiative process, which allowed voters to reverse the California supreme court's decision to legalize gay marriage. Cantil-Sakauye told the Times the initiative process "serves a useful purpose."

The chief justice nominee is relatively unknown, and no experts suggested her as a replacement for retiring chief justice Ronald M. George.

If elected, Cantil-Sakauye, who is Filipino-American, would be the first person from a racial minority to serve as California chief justice and the second woman.

Judge Reverses Partner Benefits Blockage

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against Arizona on Friday to prevent the state from enforcing a law that would do away with domestic partnership benefits for gay and lesbian state employees.

"Contrary to the state's suggestion, it is not equitable to lay the burden of the state budgetary shortfall on homosexual employees, any more than on any other distinct class, such as employees with green eyes or red hair," U.S. district judge John Sedwick wrote, according to AZCentral.

The law was on track to go into effect on October 1. It would have stopped coverage for gay and straight unmarried domestic partners as well as their children.

NOM Sign: Murder Gay Couples

A National Organization for Marriage supporter offered up a solution for gay marriage at an antigay rally in Indianapolis: putting gay couples to death.

A blogger for Blierico.com broke the story and posted a photo of the sign, which a supporter brought to NOM’s “One Man, One Woman bus tour stop in Indianapolis. The sign states the NOM supporter's name and address: Larry Adams, from Cross Bearer Ministry in Indianapolis.

According to the report, more than 250 LGBT activists showed up at the rally and only 40 NOM supporters

N.J. Court Rejects Marriage Case

Jennifer Roback Morse, of the Ruth Institute The New Jersey supreme court will not hear a case filed by six same-sex couples seeking the right to marry without the lawsuit first making its way through lower courts.

The couples' suit comes after the state legislature failed to pass a marriage-equality bill. The couples argue that New Jersey's four-year-old civil-union law does not grant them the full rights extended to heterosexual married couples.

“At the very least, oral argument would have helped to guide us on the best procedural course for creating such a record,” Virginia Long wrote in her dissent.

Gay Marriage Debate heats up on hot day in Trenton

Teaser Uganda : Killing in the name.

Scots call for gay marriage

In Scotland, same-sex couples have been able to enter civil unions since 2005, but now groups are calling for full marriage, reports The Herald.

The Equal Marriage Campaign, religious leaders and a cross-party coalition of Members of Scottish Parliament (MSPs) have begun campaigning for full marriage equality for Scotland’s gays and lesbians.

The Scottish Green Party conducted a poll of 1,000 Scottish adults in April and found that 58% supported the legalization of gay marriage while 19% disagreed.
Scottish civil unions provide all of the same legal rights and responsibilities as marriages, but are different in name.

The pressure for full marriage equality comes just after a UK politician predicted Great Britain would grant gays and lesbians the right to marry.

Marriage Bill Signed in Buenos Aires

Within the halls of the 19th-century Casa Rosada, or Pink House, Argentinian president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner on Wednesday signed into law South America's first same-sex marriage bill.

Hundreds crowded the streets outside Buenos Aires's Casa Rosada to show their support for the bill, which the Argentinean legislature passed on July 15. Within the Hall of Science, 150 people — including Fernandez’s husband and former president Nestor Kirchner — crammed into a room to watch the president sign the legislation. The room, and a spillover room, erupted into applause following the signature and it was announced that marriage equality was now the law of the land.

Fernandez then spoke to the ebullient crowd. She stated that by signing this law the government is granting marriage equality to a group that deserves rights granted to them, not taken away. Change and progress are a good thing, Fernandez added, saying that once Argentina’s senators debated allowing divorce. Finally, the president pointed out the symbolism of signing the bill within the Hall of Science, saying it demonstrates that enlightenment trumped suspicion and fear.

POACHERS KILL LAST FEMALE WHITE RHINO IN SOUTH AFRICAN RESERVE

Poachers shot the last female white rhino in a game reserve near Johannesburg, South Africa on Wednesday, sawed off her horn with a chainsaw, and let her bleed to death:

"The gang used tranquilliser guns and a helicopter to bring down the nine-year-old rhino cow. Her distraught calf was moved to a nearby estate where it was introduced to two other orphaned white rhinos. Wanda Mkutshulwa, a spokeswoman for South African National Parks, said investigations into the growing number of incidents had been shifted to the country's organised crime unit. 'We are dealing with very focused criminals. Police need to help game reserves because they are not at all equipped to handle crime on such an organised level,' she said."

The situation is dire for the species:

"Wildlife officials say poaching for the prized horns has now reached an all-time high. "Last year, 129 rhinos were killed for their horns in South Africa. This year, we have already had 136 deaths," said Japie Mostert, chief game ranger at the 1,500-hectare Krugersdorp game reserve...Mkutshulwa said poaching was also rife in the Kruger Park. Five men were arrested there in the past week alone – four of whom were caught with two bloodied rhino horns, AK-47 assault rifles, bolt-action rifles and an axe."

Gov. Schwarzenegger Signs Landmark Egg Bill

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed A.B. 1437, a bill backed by The Humane Society of the United States that requires that starting in 2015 all shell (whole) eggs sold in California must come from hens who were able to stand up, lie down, turn around, and fully extend their limbs without touching one another or the sides of an enclosure. In other words: California will become a cage-free state.

Proposition 2, approved by voters in November 2008, phases out the extreme confinement of laying hens in cages by 2015. A.B. 1437 applies the standards contained within Prop 2 to the sale of shell eggs. With 40 million consumers in California, it would be hard to overestimate the potential of this bill to change the way laying hens are treated throughout the United States.

Earth First! Activists Arrested Protesting Maine Wind Farm - 'It's Too Big'

Kennebec Maine Journal covered a recent anti-wind power protest, which involved several arrests and someone chaining herself by the neck "to a truck carrying a turbine blade." A sort of a Green Tea Party, it sounds like.

Go EF! Between this and Joe Barton apologizing to BP for the Obama Administration making BP put a bunch of money in escrow to cover the Gulf spill cleanup, an important political window has been opened. It's big enough for visionary leaders to drive a big rig right up the middle - loaded with public support for reasonable and practical compromises.

Germany Targets 100% Renewable Electricity by 2050?

Germany is already a global leader in solar power, but that's just a start as far as Germans are concerned. It's already been shown that Germany could produce 100% of its electricity from renewables by 2050. Now the country's environment agency is arguing that it should.

The Real Damage Calculates the True Cost of a New Purchase on Your Credit Card

Webapp The Real Damage calculates the true price of adding another purchase to a credit card that's already carrying a balance.
The best way to avoid throwing away money on credit card interest is simply to not carry a balance. (A good portion of Lifehacker readers pay off their cards every month.) But if you're in the process of digging out from credit card debt, it can still be tempting to put the occasional purchase on the card, particularly if it's not that expensive. The catch, of course, is that if you take the added interest that accrues on the increased balance of your debt into account, over time that price quickly grows—and that's the dollar amount The Real Damage focuses on.

Plug in the price tag of an item you're interested in, along with the APR, balance, and your current monthly payment on your credit card, and it'll figure out the true damage. Once you've got a more accurate picture of the price, then you can decide if it's worth it.

Wild Tiger Population Dropped by 96.8% in 20 Years

Tigers are Rapidly Disappearing from the Wild

According to the latest estimates, there are only about 3,200 tigers left in the wild on the entire planet. That's a catastrophically sharp decline from the 100,000 tigers that were estimated to be in the wild in 1990. The WWF experts warn that "The big cat, which is native to southern and eastern Asia, could soon become extinct unless urgent action is taken to prevent hunting and loss of habitat." Read on for more details on the fight to keep tigers from extinction.

California Sues Fannie and Freddie to Save PACE

Last month, I wrote about how Representatives Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, sent a letter to the Obama Administration trying to save PACE, the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program, which allows homeowners to finance their own solar panels or energy-savings retrofits by an addition to their property tax bill. Now California Attorney General Jerry Brown is suing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have shut down the program.

Earth's Upper Atmosphere Suffers Record Collapse

Well, this doesn't sound good: NASA just announced that the Earth's thermosphere, an upper layer of the atmosphere, collapsed. It's the biggest contraction in 43 years and scientists have no idea what's going on. I don't feel safe anymore.

John Emmert, lead author of the paper that announced the finding, reassures all of us with:

"Something is going on that we do not understand"

Apparently, thermosphere collapses do happen every so often, especially during periods of solar inactivity. But the magnitude of the collapse is what puzzles scientists, since it's two to three times greater than any sort of explainable activity.

The thermosphere is pretty far away from us, closer to where Earth meets space, so it's not exactly time to panic but when science can't explain it, I can't help myself. The world is so ending in 2012.

The Road To A Renewable Energy Economy Is Bumpy In California

California utilities must get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by the end of 2010 and 33 percent by 2020. The 2020 target looms large as utilities tryi to line up contracts with suppliers of renewable energy and set up their own projects. Pacific Gas and Electric had a deal with a Portuguese company for 106.8 megawatts of power from a solar and biomass plant, but local opposition and cost have shelved the plant.

The plant, which would have generated power from solar during the day and biomass at night, was slated to go up on 640 acres of agricultural land in Fresno County. The biomass was to be collected from local farms and trucked into the plant, but locals said that the trucking would contribute to air pollution problems and they expressed concerned over the amount of water the plant would use.

The plants operator, Martifer, wrote in a letter to the state's utility commission that there were just too many obstacles to overcome.

On behalf of San Joaquin Solar 1 LLC and San Joaquin Solar 2 LLC, I am writing to withdraw the application for certification of the Joaquin Solar 1&2 Hybrid Project.

We were not able, at this time to resolve some of our issues regarding project economics and biomass supply amongst other things. We greatly appreciate the effort you put into processing this application.

I hereby attest, under penalty ofpeIjury, that the contents ofthis Notice ofWithdrawal are truthful and accurate to the best of my knowledge. San Joaquin Solar 1 LLC and San Joaquin Solar 2 LLC are special purpose entities, each created to develop, construct, own, and operate one solar thermal hybrid power generation plant and supply the electrical output to PG&E under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

The plant's undoing shows some of the tensions between California's renewable goals and the reality of constructing actual projects. Local land use issues, capital investment, local control, and more have all contributed to some contentious fights around the Golden State.

However, in one bit of good news, California voters beat back a ballot measure last month that would have prevented communities from buying and selling their own local energy. The defeat was a bad one from PG&E, which was seeking monopoly control, and helped to increase the likelihood that California will have more distributed grid with more renewables in it.

DID JUSTICE GINSBURG PLANT A 'TIME BOMB' FOR MARRIAGE DECISION?

Did Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg set a "time bomb" for the inevitable SCOTUS marriage decision when she wrote, in the recent decision against Hasting Law School's Christian Legal Society in which the group was forced to abide by the school's anti-discrimination policy or be denied recognition?

Wrote Ginsburg:

“Our decisions have declined to distinguish between status and conduct in this context.”

That's what Adam Liptak suggests in a NYT article. A "time bomb", Liptak explains, was a phrase often utilized by Justice William Brennan Jr. in a decision "that would be exploited to [its] logical extreme in a later case."

Liptak suggests (as do the plaintiffs in the Prop 8 case) that Ginsburg's discussion of status and conduct is important:

"Justice Ginsburg’s bland talk about status and conduct was significant because courts are more apt to protect groups whose characteristics are immutable. Calling sexual orientation a status may not require the conclusion that being gay is immutable rather than a choice, but it certainly suggests it."

While some are wary of reading forward with limited information, others see it as a good sign, and consider this detail as well:

"The Christian Legal Society decision was notable, too, because it was the only one in an argued case in the last term in which Justice Anthony M. Kennedy joined the court’s four more liberal members in a 5-to-4 decision. It is inconceivable that advocates for same-sex marriage can win in the current Supreme Court without his vote."

Outed Calif. state senator apologizes

Senator Roy Ashburn, the California state senator who was arrested for driving under the influence after leaving a gay bar in March apologized on Monday for the harm he has caused the LGBT community.

He wrote a formal apology letter on GayPolitics.com:

“I am sincerely sorry for the votes I cast and the actions I took that harmed lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Just as important to me, I am sorry for not stepping forward and speaking up as an elected official on behalf of equal treatment for all people,” he wrote. “I chose to conceal who I truly am and to then actually vote against the best interests of people like me.”

Ashburn has one of the strongest voting records against expanding LGBT rights in California.

“My past actions harmed gay people. In fact, all people are harmed when there is unequal treatment of anyone under the constitution and laws of our country,” he wrote.

He recognized the opportunity he has as a now-out gay Republican Senator. He connected classic Republican beliefs of “individual freedom and limited government” to the fight for equal rights and vowed to work for securing these rights.

“Now, from what I have lived and learned, I want to do the best that I can to advance equality and freedom for all people,” he wrote. “I am no longer willing, nor able to remain silent

51% in Calif. Back Marriage

A new Field Poll shows that 51% of Californians back marriage equality and that 42% are opposed to allowing same-sex couples to wed, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

That’s the same margin of support Field has found in the state for the past two years, even though in 2008 voters passed Proposition 8, which bans marriage equality.

Field reps say that support for marriage declines when alternatives come into play. Support drops to 44% when the option of civil unions is introduced.

Irish Pres. Signs Gay Partners Bill

Ireland’s president, Mary McAleese, has signed the country’s Civil Partnership Bill into law, offering same-sex couples protections that include access to pensions, inheritance, and power of attorney.

17 Dead at Gay Party in Mexico

A party in the northern Mexican city of Torreón that was organized by a gay group on Facebook ended in a bloodbath early Sunday morning when gunmen opened fire, killing 17 men and women and injuring 18 others.

The Los Angeles Times reports it was one of the highest single-incident death tolls since the beginning of Mexico's raging drug war in 2006. President Felipe Calderon launched a military-led offensive against powerful narcotics cartels that December.

An invitation to the birthday party at the Italia Inn in Torreon was sent out by a gay group but advertised as being open to all. Authorities at the scene raised “the possibility of an anti-gay hate crime,” but suspect drug traffickers were more likely involved.

Photos from the party show “toppled white plastic chairs, scattered musical instruments and cups and plates and shoes strewn on a blood-splattered floor alongside a tented pool. Empty beer bottles were lined up on tabletops; bullet holes punctured the walls.”

250 MILLION NOW LIVING IN PLACES THAT RECOGNIZE GAY MARRIAGE

Nate Silver crunches some numbers, as he does so well. He writes:

"The big spike you see in 2008 is California recognizing gay marriage through the courts, and then un-recognizing it through the passage of Proposition 8. Right now, it's possible to marry your same-sex partner in Buenos Aires, in Mexico City, in Ames, Iowa, and in Pretoria, South Africa, but not in San Francisco. With countries like Argentina and Portugal now recognizing same-sex marriages, however, the global trajectory has returned to its slow-but-steady upward pace."

ABC Gives Evasive Statement to CNN.com Following GLAAD Criticism of Problematic Segment on The View

On Monday, July 12, GLAAD, the Black AIDS Institute and the National Black Justice Coalition placed a full page ad in Variety Magazine calling on ABC and its morning program, The View to take responsibility for misinformation espoused on the June 22 edition of the program.

The June 22 broadcast of The View featured hosts Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd, along with guest hosts D.L. Hughley and Thomas Roberts, (executive producer/co-host Barbara Walters and moderator Whoopi Goldberg were not present on the show that day). During the “Hot Topics” segment, Shepherd and Hughley blamed African American gay and bisexual men for increased HIV rates among straight African American women. But as we noted in the Variety Ad: “The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has publicly disproven this myth. And since June 22, thousands of people have written to ABC, asking that The View provide correct information to viewers. Unfortunately, those requests have been greeted with silence from both ABC and The View.”

Since we placed the Variety ad, several media outlets have covered the story including E Online, AOL Black Voices, TV Guide, Salon.com, Gothamist and a host of others.

Late Wednesday, July 14, ABC released an evasive statement to CNN.com, deflecting criticism from GLAAD, the Black AIDS Institute and the National Black Justice Coalition.

From CNN.com’s, The Chart:
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, the Black AIDS Institute and the National Black Justice Coalition said the two were “blaming African American gay and bisexual men for increased HIV rates among straight African American women.” They published a full page advertisement in Variety magazine this week urging ABC and “The View” to make an on-air correction. The groups commended “The View” for tackling tough issues, but said it’s important to provide accurate information.
ABC responded with this statement to CNN: “ On June 22, during a discussion about blood donation and the transmission of HIV/AIDS, a guest moderator on the show expressed his interpretation of data about one way the virus can be transmitted. The topic of HIV/AIDS has been raised many times over the show’s 13 years, with many voices and opinions contributing to a conversation that we expect to continue as long as The View is on the air.”

After weeks of silence on this issue, ABC has finally issued a public statement — but unfortunately, the network still has not corrected the inaccurate information broadcast into millions of homes. GLAAD continues to call on ABC and The View to publicly correct the misinformation aired on the June 22 show. Because as our ad in Variety concludes:

“When The View talks about these kinds of issues, people listen. And there’s a responsibility that comes with that. We want The View to do what it does at its best: Talk about the tough issues with a commitment to honesty, accuracy and fairness. We ask ABC and The View to keep the conversation going by correcting the record and elevating voices that can provide accurate information about HIV/AIDS for African American gay and bisexual men, African American women, and all viewers.”

Please continue to call on ABC and The View to correct the show’s June 22 inaccurate claims about African American gay and bisexual men. This program reaches millions of viewers and ABC must ensure that its platforms are not used to perpetuate dangerous falsehoods that put our community in harm’s way.

LDS Official Involved in Argentina Marriage Battle

Despite claims from the Mormon Church that it was not involved with a group opposing same-sex marriage in Argentina, an LDS official joined other religious leaders there at a July meeting for a strategy session.

Carlos Aguero, LDS public-affairs director for Argentina and a former Area Authority Seventy, attended a July 7 meeting along with several leaders from conservative Christian churches, a Buenos Aires newspaper reports.

The LDS Church says Aguero’s involvement doesn’t mean the church directly took a stand.

“The [LDS] Church has made its support of traditional marriage clear but it does not involve itself institutionally in every same-sex election contest,” LDS spokesman Scott Trotter said. “The church took no official position on the marriage legislation in Argentina and did not organize its members to participate in opposing the legislation.”

Prior to the Senate vote, Mormon leaders read aloud a letter from the Utah-based church’s governing First Presidency, reiterating the church’s support for “traditional marriage.”

TEA PARTY RACISM:

What The Media Won't Show You About Teabagger Racism




Sarah Palin says tea-party branch of Republican party is NOT racist.
Sarah Palin calls Obama "half white or half black" wants him to "refudiate" NAACP



Tea Party Express spokesman Mark Williams fired an unexpected response to a challenge from CNN contributor Roland Martin.

Asked to tell racists "you're not welcome" in the tea party, Williams replied, "Racists have their own movement. It's called the NAACP."

The exchange came on Wednesday's edition of CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." A day earlier, the NAACP passed a resolution condemning the tea party for tolerating racism.

Vatican: Ordination Of Women A 'Grave Crime'

The Vatican issued a revised set of in-house rules Thursday to respond to clerical sex abuse, targeting priests who molest the mentally disabled as well as children and priests who use child pornography, but making few substantive changes to existing practice.

The new rules make no mention of the need for bishops to report clerical sex abuse to police, provide no canonical sanctions for bishops who cover up for abusers and do not include any "one-strike and you're out" policy for pedophile priests as demanded by some victims.

As a result, they failed to satisfy victims' advocates, who said the revised rules amounted to little more than "administrative housekeeping" of existing practice when what was needed were bold new rules threatening bishops who fail to report molester priests.

The rules cover the canonical penalties and procedures used for the most grave crimes in the church, both sacramental and moral, and double the statute of limitations applied to them. One new element included lists the attempted ordination of women as a "grave crime" subject to the same set of procedures and punishments meted out for sex abuse.

That drew immediate criticism from women's ordination groups, who said making a moral equivalent between women priests and child rapists was offensive.

The Vatican's sex crimes prosecutor acknowledged it was "only a document," and didn't solve the problem of clerical abuse. He defended the lack of any mention of the need to report abuse to police, saying all Christians were required to obey civil laws that would already demand sex crimes be reported.

"If civil law requires you report, you must obey civil law," Monsignor Charles Scicluna told reporters. But "it's not for canonical legislation to get itself involved with civil law."

As Promised, Iglesias to Water-ski Nude

Enrique Iglesias promised to water ski naked if Spain won the 2010 FIFA World Cup in a June 28 interview with the BBC. Now that his team has pulled through, he says he plans to make good on that promise.

"If Spain wins, I'm going to get drunk and ski naked in Biscayne Bay," the 35-year-old Spanish pop star said. The stunt wouldn’t be a first for him, however. As he explained, “That is what we used to do when we were kids.”

In the wake of Spain’s 1–0 win against the Netherlands in the July 11 final game, many were left wondering whether Iglesias would keep his word. However, a follow-up interview byAccess Hollywoodthis week reported that Iglesias will honor his promise. He stated, “A bet is a bet!”

No details have been released for when the singer will make his naked debut.

Victory for Gay Marriage in DC

Marriage equality foes were dealt a blow Thursday morning — the DC Court of Appeals ruled against allowing an initiative on the ballot to invalidate same-sex marriages entered into in the District.

Gay marriage foes — led by antigay Bishop Harry Jackson of Maryland and groups including the National Organization for Marriage — were attempting to get Prop. 8-like initiative on the ballot in DC.

The Court of Appeals ruled 5-4 that the proposed initiative would permit discrimination against gays and lesbians in the District, which is prohibited by the DC Human Rights Act.

“The court’s ruling today is a significant victory for justice, the rule of law and the protection of all D.C. residents against discrimination,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “It’s time for the National Organization for Marriage to realize equality is here to stay no matter how much money they want to throw at turning back the clock.”

The District began issuing marriage licenses in March. Subsequent congressional attempts to block the law failed.

ENDA no longer on Senate agenda

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is not on the agenda for Senate floor action for the next few weeks, prior to the August 9 recess.

A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate will take up work on as many as nine matters during the next month, but none of those are ENDA

KATHY GRIFFIN DUMPS LEVI JOHNSTON FOR TAYLOR LAUTNER

Kathy Griffin took the news of Levi Johnston's engagement to Bristol Palin hard, but moved on quickly.

California's Voter-Approved Ban On Divorce Now Just 694,000 Signatures Away

Sacramento's John Marcotte, the married father of two and professional satirist, needs to collect 694,000 signatures in just 150 days in order to get California Marriage Protection Act, his petition to ban divorce, in front of California voters in November. The secretary of state just gave him the go ahead o get started.

California Supreme Court Justice Ron George Said Yes to Gay Marriage. Now He Says Yes to Retirement

California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ron George, 70, who authored the 2008 opinion that legalized same-sex marriage for a few months before voters reversed the court's call, and then ruled to uphold the voter-approved Prop 8 that hijacked his own decision, announced his resignation today — a move "stunning colleagues." He's purposefully resigning in time to let his buddy Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pick his replacement.

MATRIMONIO PARA TODOS!

Argentina Gay Marriage Law: First Country In Latin America To Approve Same Sex Marriage

Argentina legalized same-sex marriage Thursday, becoming the first country in Latin America to declare that gays and lesbians have all the legal rights, responsibilities and protections that marriage brings to heterosexual couples.

After a marathon debate in Argentina's senate, 33 lawmakers voted in favor, 27 against and 3 abstained in a vote that ended after 4 a.m. Since the lower house already approved it and President Cristina Fernandez is a strong supporter, it becomes law as soon as it is published in the official bulletin, which should happen within days.

The law is sure to bring a wave of marriages by gays and lesbians who have found Buenos Aires to be a welcoming place to live. But same-sex couples from other countries shouldn't rush their Argentine wedding plans, since only citizens and residents can wed in the country, and the necessary documents can take months to obtain. While it makes some amendments to the civil code, many other aspects of family law will have to be changed.

The approval came despite a concerted campaign by the Roman Catholic Church and evangelical groups, which drew 60,000 people to march on Congress and urged parents in churches and schools to work against passage. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio led the campaign, saying "children need to have the right to be raised and educated by a father and a mother."

Bristol Palin & Levi Johnston ENGAGED

Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are engaged, and they've shared the news on the cover of Us Weekly, seen below. They have not shared the news with Bristol's mom Sarah Palin, who has mocked Levi as "Ricky Hollywood" and poked at his "aspiring porn" career.

Bristol tell the glossy, "It is intimidating and scary just to think about what her reaction is going to be. Hopefully she will jump on board."

Apparently they got back together three months ago, and engaged two weeks ago. They told the magazine they are waiting for sex until the marriage, as Bristol has pledged to be abstinent. Fortunately they want a short engagement and hope to marry in the next six weeks. They reconnected when meeting to discuss custody of son Tripp, 18 months old.

"I really thought we were over," Levi tells the mag. "So when I went, I had no hope. I think we both just started talking -- and then we took Tripp for a walk."

Bristol continues, "When he left that night, we didn't hug or kiss, but I was thinking how different it was. He texted me: 'I miss you. I love you. I want to be with you again' ... I was in shock."

UPDATE: Sarah and Todd Palin said in a statement on NBC's "Today" show Tuesday that they want what's best for their children and that Bristol believes in "redemption and forgiveness." And it seems Bristol blames her mom for their initial breakup. In a newly released People interview, Bristol says that had her mom not been a VP candidate, she and Levi would already be married and would never have split.

Send Linda Lingle a Postcard

Lambda Legal has a message for Hawaii governor Linda Lingle, and the group has taken the liberty of printing it on a colorful postcard.

Donors to the nonprofit organization are invited to sign Lambda’s "Equality: Wish You Were Here" postcard. The group will be sending the card to Lingle, who vetoed the state’s civil unions bill last week.

Argentina Senate to Vote on Gay Marriage

Argentina’s senate will vote on a marriage equality bill Wednesday as religious opposition heats up. President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has said she would sign the bill, which already passed the lower chamber of the legislature.

According to The New York Times, “If the Senate votes for the bill, approved by the lower house of congress in May, Argentina would become the first country in Latin America to allow same-sex marriages, affording all rights of heterosexual unions. Mexico City became the first jurisdiction in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriages in December. Two other countries in the region, Uruguay and Colombia, allow civil unions for gay couples.”

The Roman Catholic Church staged large protests around the bill Sunday. The Times reports that President Kirchner has criticized the Church for its inability to adjust to the modern reality in Argentina, where her supporters cite polls showing that the overwhelming majority of citizens support marriage equality. Other critics question the timing of the bill and say that the president and her husband, Néstor Kirchner, are trying to solidify power ahead of his presidential run. Néstor Kirchner, now a congressman leading the charge on marriage equality, served as president from 2003 to 2007.

Marriage equality also is the subject of a supreme court case yet to be decided in Argentina.

Holy Family Adoption Services

Holy Family Adoption Services provides adoption, foster care, and family support services for infants and toddlers who are often born into very high-risk situations and require placement into a loving home. Since 1949, they have been helping these children whose mothers have been victimized themselves by family violence, or who suffer from addiction, or who are just ill-prepared for motherhood.

For most of its organizational life, Holy Family Adoption Services operated in partnership with the Catholic Archdiocese in Los Angeles. It had the financial and in-kind support from the church as well as the support of many generous Catholic individuals and foundations - until it became known that the Holy Family Adoption Services staff placed a handful of the thousands of children it cared for with same-sex couples. The State of California prohibits discriminating against same-sex couples in adoption placement and Holy Family Adoption Services was abiding by that state law.

In 2007, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles made it clear that Holy Family would have to stop placing children with same-sex couples. Instead of giving in, the Holy Family Adoption Services board of directors ultimately decided that nothing was more important than providing loving and supportive homes for at-risk infants and children and that no otherwise qualified home should be closed to these children simply because of the gender and sexual orientation of the family members within it.

The Catholic Archdiocese withdrew their support, as did most Catholic donors. Holy Family Adoption Services was forced to lay off staff, reduce services, and seek new sources of support in the midst of an economic recession.

Enter Bishop Jon Bruno of the Episcopal Diocese. When Bishop Bruno learned of Holy Family's courage and fate, he invited the organization to be housed under the auspices of his church. This kept the organization alive.

But Holy Family Adoption Services valiantly limps on, and the organization requires new sources of support to continue on with their mission. Last month, our foundation provided a $50,000 grant to the organization, but much more is needed.

While civic and public discourse these days seems to be dominated by scapegoating, intolerance, and even hate - Arizona's anti-immigration legislation and California's Prop. 8 battle embody such activity - we want to take a quiet moment to acknowledge the moral courage of the board of directors of Holy Family Adoption Services and Bishop Jon Bruno. They are standing up for the infants who need them most. We hope you'll find it in your heart to do the same.

Charity F-Bomb-A-Thon Aids Gulf Clean Up - Very NSFW (Video)

Oil Spill Charity "F-Bomb-A-Thon" from UnF--kTheGulf.com on Vimeo.

GAY CALIFORNIA SENATOR ROY ASHBURN: I WAS A HYPOCRITE

Four months after he was outed following a DUI arrest after a visit to a gay bar, California state senator Roy Ashburn talked with News10 about living openly as a gay man:

"The hypocracy (sic) is true. I lived a double life. I had tremendous passion and drive to be in public life, to be elected, and I've had a remarkable political career...No one has really spoken to me about my votes and I've decided that I'm going to vote the truth. I am no longer going to vote against rights for people because they happen to be gay or bi or transgendered. I'm not going to do that."

Ashburn says he'll remain a Republican: "The Republican party is the party that believes in limited government and individual freedom. The government doesn't get involved in people's private lives. And yet, I think the Republican party is viewed as the anti-gay rights party, and I think that's very regrettable."

California trial opens on military gay policy

An attorney for the nation’s largest Republican gay rights group has told a judge he will use a statement by President Obama as part of a federal court lawsuit challenging the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

In his opening statement Tuesday at the trial in Southern California, attorney Dan Woods said he would enter as evidence Obama’s comments that the policy has weakened national security.

Woods is representing the Log Cabin Republicans. The group wants the judge to halt the policy that prohibits military members from acknowledging they are gay and requires them to be discharged if they are discovered to be gay.

The case puts the government in the position of defending the policy while Obama is pushing Congress to repeal it.

Kennedy Gains Supreme Court Power

When Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens retires, Justice Anthony Kennedy will inherit the responsibility of deciding who writes the opinion for court opinions that come down on the liberal side.

Though it is a rule only in practice and not law, the senior justice on the majority side decides who writes the opinion for that respective case, according to the Associated Press.

Kennedy often acts as the swing vote in a court where many cases are decided by a 5-4 vote. With Stevens retiring, Kennedy will be the most senior, left-leaning justice in cases pitting conservative justices against liberal ones. The change could be more significant than Elena Kagan's probable appointment, as she would likely not change the ratio of conservative to liberal justices.

Conservatives fear Kennedy could choose to side with the liberal portion of the court for more decisions in order to dictate who writes case opinions. Others suggest Kennedy could choose to write many liberal decisions as less progressive than more consistently liberal justices.

Kennedy may come into the spotlight as many high-profile cases related to gay rights reach the Supreme Court in the near future. Experts predict appeals of Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, a federal case that found part of the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional last week. Appeals are also likely for Perry v. Schwarzenegger,which contests the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, and Log Cabin Republicans v. The United States of America, which takes the government to task over "don't ask, don't tell."

Tea Party Silent About Gay Marriage

Although Tea Party protests are more commonplace every day, there is one issue members choose not to address. Tea Party groups across the country have not made a public statement about gay marriage.

Avoiding controversial social issues keeps the Tea Party united by focusing solely on fiscal policies, according to The Washington Post. Without making a platform addressing issues such as gay marriage, the Tea Party can build more momentum and retain higher membership numbers.

Tea Party groups may not put gay marriage issues on their platforms, but they are very clear about who should regulate the legalizing or banning of gay marriage.

"I do think it's a state's right," Texas Tea Party coordinator Phillip Dennis said in the article. "I believe that if the people in Massachusetts want gay people to get married, then they should allow it, just as people in Utah do not support abortion. They should have the right to vote against that."

L.A. Times: Throw Out Prop. 8

The Los Angeles Times' editorial board calls on Judge Vaughn Walker to invalidate Proposition 8 and for the Supreme Court to end all bans on same-sex marriage.

Awaiting a decision on the federal case against Prop. 8, the Times on Tuesday takes note of last week's federal decision that declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. According to the Times, arguments used to defend both Prop. 8 and DOMA were weak, and there is no proof, simply a belief by some, that gay people make bad parents or that same-sex marriage discourages opposite-sex marriage.

"The lack of a solid justification for laws against same-sex marriage suggest that, like the sodomy law, they're based only on a traditional moral belief. That's why the Supreme Court should reject them."

Mormon Church Restates Opposition to Gay Marriage

Mormon church leaders have restated the faith’s unequivocal position against gay marriage in a letter to members in Argentina, where the government is debating whether to legalize gay unions.

"The doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is absolutely clear: Marriage is between one man and woman and is ordained of God," said the July 6 letter from church President Thomas S. Monson.

Mark Ruffalo on marriage equality:

"It's the last dying, kicking, screaming, caged animal response to a world that is changing, a world that's leaving a lot of those old, bigoted, un-accepting views behind. It's over."

White House silent on Mass. gay marriage ruling

A key part of a law denying married gay couples federal benefits has been thrown out the window in Massachusetts, the first state to legalize gay marriage. The ball now lies in the White House’s court, which must carefully calculate the next move by an administration that has faced accusations it has not vigorously defended the law of the land.

President Barack Obama has said repeatedly that he would like to see the federal Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA, repealed. But the Justice Department has defended the constitutionality of the law, which it is required to do.

The administration was silent Friday on whether it would appeal rulings by U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro. Spokespeople for the White House and the Justice Department said officials are still reviewing the rulings.

DOMA defines marriage as between a man and a woman, prevents the federal government from recognizing gay marriages and allows states to deny recognition of same-sex unions performed elsewhere. Since the law passed in 1996, many states have instituted their own bans on gay marriage, and a handful have allowed the practice.
Tauro ruled Thursday in two separate cases that DOMA is unconstitutional because it interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples an array of federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples, including health insurance and the benefits of filing joint tax returns.

The rulings apply only to Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage has been legal since 2004. But gay marriage supporters are hoping the rulings could prompt other states to file their own challenges to DOMA and could also give momentum to a bill pending in Congress that would repeal the law.

Many opponents and proponents expect the Obama administration to appeal the rulings to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, and that the question of whether the law is unconstitutional will eventually be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Many Obama voters, particularly among gays, will push for the administration not to appeal Tauro’s rulings, said former Assistant Attorney General Robert Raben. But the administration could set a dangerous precedent if it does not continue to defend the law, he said.

“You want the Department of Justice to stop because you won a case; I understand that,” said Raben, who worked at the department during the administration of President Bill Clinton, who signed DOMA into law.

Variety Ad Targets The View

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, the Black AIDS Institute, and the National Black Justice Coalition took out a full-page ad in variety on Monday to demand that ABC and The View correct misinformation the popular morning program spread about African-American men and HIV infection on June 22.

According to part of the ad, “On June 22, ABC’s The View aired inaccurate information about HIV, blaming African American gay and bisexual men for increased HIV rates among straight African American women. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has publicly disproven this myth. And since June 22, thousands of people have written to ABC, asking that The View provide correct information to viewers. Unfortunately, those requests have been greeted with silence from both ABC and The View.”

The June 22 episode focused on the Food and Drug Administration’s ban against gay and bisexual men giving blood. Host Sherri Shepherd and guest host D.L. Hughley perpetuated the falsehoods about African-American men and AIDS in their comments.

GLAAD issued a call to action on June 24 urging viewers to contact the show and ask for a retraction. More than 3,000 people participated, according to GLAAD.

Catholics, Mormons Fight Gay Marriage in Argentina

As the Argentina senate prepares to vote on a same-sex marriage bill this week, the Catholic church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are stepping up efforts to defeat the measure in the country, where more than 90% of the population calls itself Catholic.

The marriage equality bill, which goes before the senate on Wednesday, already passed the lower chamber in May, but a tougher fight is expected in the senate, according to Agence France-Presse. The hurdles include religious opposition and advocacy.

“During Sunday Mass, church officials read a message from Buenos Aires Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio in which he urged the faithful to protest Tuesday in front of Congress,” reports AFP.

“The bishops of La Pampa, a central province, published a document in which they defended a family model ‘with a mom and a dad, naturally endowed with the remarkable wealth of fertility.’”

Also on Sunday, sacrament meetings of the LDS church were reminded of the church’s position against same-sex marriage.

According to the Deseret News, “In a single-paragraph letter dated July 6 and read Sunday to Argentine congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the church's First Presidency said the doctrine is ‘absolutely clear: that marriage is between a man and a woman and is ordained of God.’”

The following is an ad from the non-catholic/mormon cam:

Church Of England: Women Should Be Allowed To Become Bishops

The Church of England national assembly decided Monday that women should be allowed to become bishops, making only minor concessions to theological conservatives who have threatened to break away over the issue.

Dioceses will now consider the draft law, which would leave it up to individual bishops to allow alternative oversight for traditionalists who object to serving under women bishops. The dioceses must report back by 2012 and a final vote by the ruling body, the General Synod, will still be needed, but supporters say a milestone has been passed.

"The decision to consecrate women as bishops has been taken," said church spokesman Lou Henderson. "Everybody recognized the importance of offering safeguards and assurances to those who find it very difficult (to accept women bishops), but in the end Synod as a whole was not prepared to go as far as the traditionalists would have liked."

The decision was not final and still faced many hurdles.

After the dioceses make a decision over the draft law, the Synod will need to hold a final vote to approve it. That could be complicated by the formation and desires of the next incoming assembly, Henderson said.

If approved, the first women bishops could be appointed in 2014.

The decision is an important step for the governing Synod, which has for decades been debating whether to let women become bishops with the same status as male bishops. Traditionalist Anglicans – believing that allowing women to be bishops is contrary to the Bible – oppose the move and say the decision could result in many leaving the Church of England. Others, however, argue that the church cannot afford to be seen as stuck in the past with out-of-date values.

Anglican churches in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Cuba already have women bishops, Henderson said. The Church of England began ordaining women to the priesthood in 1994.

Antibodies found that provide protection against AIDS

Researchers have discovered antibodies that can protect against a wide range of AIDS viruses and said they may be able to use them to design a vaccine against the fatal and incurable virus.

The bodies of some people make these immune system proteins after they are infected with the AIDS virus, when it is too late for them to do much good. But a properly designed vaccine might help the body make them much sooner, the researchers reported in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

"I am more optimistic about an AIDS vaccine at this point in time than I have been probably in the last 10 years," Dr. Gary Nabel of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.

Two of the antibodies can attach to and neutralize 90 percent of the various mutations of the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS, Nabel said.

"This is an antibody that evolved after the fact. That is part of the problem we have in dealing with HIV — once a person becomes infected, the virus always gets ahead of the immune system," Nabel said.

"What we are trying to do with a vaccine is get ahead of the virus."

Church Of England To Consider Women Bishops -- Again

The contentious issue of women bishops will once again be debated by the Church of England's General Synod when delegates and bishops convene in York on Friday (July 9), years after the issue was first raised.

Christina Rees, a campaigner for the ordination of women bishops in the Church of England, told ENInews, "It's going to be a historic synod. Fifteen hours of debate. That's a marathon by anyone's standards."

Women can be ordained as priests in the Church of England but they may not hold the higher office of bishop, even though the Synod has given support to the principle of changing church law to allow female bishops.

American-born Rees, who is director of the Churchfield Trust, a group dedicated to advancing women's ministries, said the archbishops of Canterbury and York (the church's top two officials), had signaled their intent to amend the women-bishops law to help keep traditionalists from leaving the church.

"I hope that none of the amendments change that really important principle of `yes' to women bishops," she said. "However, if it is voted down, or it doesn't go through, we will have to pick up the pieces and start again in November," when a new General Synod begins.

Religion correspondent Ruth Gledhill, writing in The Times of London newspaper, reported that one of Britain's leading women rabbis, Alexandra Wright, had written to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, urging him "for goodness sake" to get on with ordaining women bishops.

Wright said that since women were ordained, "We find ourselves besieged by young families."

The rabbi told Gledhill, "Considering the dominant force of male leadership and authority in rabbinic Judaism ... it might be surprising to learn that the roof has not caved in."

Argentina's Senate to consider marriage, civil-unions bills

A marriage-equality bill failed to clear a committee in the Argentine Senate, but the measure will still be debated by the full Senate, alongside a civil-unions bill, next week. The government of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner supports the measure extending full marriage rights to same-sex couples, which the Lower House has already approved.

Feds Ordered to Explain DADT Discrimination

The federal judge hearing a case next week to challenge the military's ban on gay and lesbian service members decided Wednesday the government must submit evidence justifying why it has enforced the law.

In a pretrial ruling, U.S. district judge Virginia Phillips said the Obama administration's lawyers must show that Congress came to a reasonable conclusion that barring gays and lesbians from serving openly provided for a more effective military. Phillips said recent legal outcomes have raised the bar and demanded more evidence to justify antigay discrimination, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The trial, scheduled to begin Tuesday in Riverside, Calif., stems from a suit by the Log Cabin Republicans, specifically highlighting the discharge of former Army intelligence collector Alexander Nicholson and an unnamed service member still in the military.

Anita Bryant Returns!

The controversial Queen of Gay Hate, Anita Bryant, returned to the stage on July 9, 2010 for a patriotic performance in Yukon, OK before an Oklahoma-based group that has become nationally known for its malevolent attacks on gays and whose members include the husband of leading homophobe State Rep. Sally Kern.

Bryant’s appearance is part of a two-day conference spanning July 9th and 10th calling for a return to America’s Christian heritage, a crusade against Muslims and gays, and will coincide with the first ever Patriot Pastors Tea Party.

N.Y. AG Hopefuls Hail DOMA Rulings

All five candidates in the hotly contested Democratic primary for New York attorney general released statements hailing the rulings Thursday from a Massachusetts federal judge that struck down a section of the Defense of Marriage Act. The victories, which the Obama administration may appeal, included a case brought by the Massachusetts attorney general Martha Coakley.

In one of the two cases decided by U.S. district judge Joseph Tauro, Coakley invoked the Tenth Amendment to argue that Section 3 of DOMA violated the sovereignty of Massachusetts by infringing on its right to make decisions about who can marry.

New York attorney general candidate Kathleen Rice, who serves as Nassau County district attorney, applauded the outcome. In May she was the first candidate to pledge to sue the federal government over DOMA if elected to the statewide office.

“More than a month ago, I outlined several legal flaws to DOMA, including its clear violation of the 10th amendment,” said Rice. “This ruling gives strength to my argument and hopefully it will embolden other attorneys general around the country to join our effort for equality.”

Sean Coffey, a former federal prosecutor and Navy veteran opposed to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, said, “Not only does the Defense of Marriage Act wrongfully deny LGBT couples the right to a full and natural expression of love and commitment, it perpetuates a culture of discrimination that infects other areas of American life.”

Said state senator Eric Schneiderman, whose equality platform includes joining the court fight against DOMA: “As Attorney General, I will stand on the side of justice and lend support to this case as it makes its way to the Supreme Court, while advocating for full marriage equality — without exceptions — in New York State."

Eric Dinallo, a former state insurance commissioner, said, “I was proud to stand up for equality as the head of the New York state Insurance Department, when I ordered insurance companies to provide benefits to same-sex couples who married out of state.” His plans for the office including using that order as the basis for a new equal protection challenge to the 2006 state Court of Appeals ruling that found no right to marriage equality.

State assembly member Richard Brodsky also chipped in some state insight, saying, “It is my belief that the state constitution’s equal protection clause gives a separate and powerful basis for equality for all New Yorkers, a legal view I will strongly advance as attorney general.”

While the candidates’ approaches may vary, the attorney general’s office provides significant prosecutorial and advocacy powers that can be used to advance rights for LGBT New Yorkers. Hopefuls for the top legal job have been jockeying for gay voters’ support ahead of the September primary, seeking endorsements from gay political clubs, elected officials, and other notables.

Campaign officials for Republican attorney general candidate Dan Donovan, the Staten Island district attorney, did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the DOMA rulings.

Presbyterian leaders approve gay clergy policy

Presbyterian leaders voted Thursday to allow non-celibate gays in committed relationships to serve as clergy, approving the first of two policy changes that could make their church one of the most gay-friendly major Christian denominations in the U.S.

But the vote isn’t a final stamp of approval for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) or its more than 2 million members.

Delegates voted during the church’s general assembly in Minneapolis, with 53 percent approving the more liberal policy on gay clergy. A separate vote is expected later Thursday on whether to change the church’s definition of marriage from between "a man and a woman" to between "two people."

DOJ 'Reviewing' DOMA Decision

While the Department of Justice is expected to appeal yesterday's decision against DOMA by a U.S. district judge in Massachusetts, they have yet to officially do so, though a rep from the federal department says that they "are reviewing the decision."

Not surprisingly, supporters of DOMA are throwing out sensational phrases such as "judicial activism" and "rogue judge" like they always do when it comes to gay rights.

Said Andrea Lafferty of the Traditional Values Coalition: "We can't allow the lowest common denominator states, like Massachusetts, to set standards for the country." Nice way to put down an entire state.

You may remember Lafferty whom in a discussion about ENDA, stated that she thinks transgenders are confusing to children.